Launch of DisabledGo Access Website

I really should try and gather this access info for all the galleries in the listings but getting the information and then keeping it up-to-date is quite a task. Will try, meanwhile the major venues are listed on this page

Via the Liverpool Culture Co…

LAUNCH OF UNIQUE ACCESS GUIDE

A unique new guide, designed to empower Liverpool’s thousands of disabled residents to get out and do what they want to do, is set to launch.

Put together thanks to sponsorship from Liverpool Culture Company and Marks and Spencer DisabledGo- Liverpool will open up this area to residents and visitors.

DisabledGo and Liverpool Culture Company have worked with hundreds of shops, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and other public venues, so that DisabledGo- Liverpool can provide access details for these goods and service providers. This information can make a huge difference for people with hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns. The guide may also be useful for older people and those with pushchairs.

By logging on to www.DisabledGo.info people can check, for example, whether a pub is accessible to a wheelchair user, whether a cinema can offer a hearing loop, whether a hotel offers adapted rooms, and whether a restaurant offers menus in large print or Braille.

The guide will also enable Liverpool’s business and service providers to contact the huge number of customers who have access concerns. According to government figures there are 11 million disabled people in the UK with an annual spending power of £80 billion. This guide will help local businesses to reach new customers among Liverpool’s residents and visitors.

Commenting in advance of the launch the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Gregory Burke, said,

“The constant need to write or telephone to enquire about access really affects people’s confidence to get out and do what they want to do. Never knowing whether a building will be accessible or whether staff will have a helpful attitude makes you think twice before going out. DisabledGo ends that uncertainty by providing detailed access information and enabling people to judge for themselves whether a shop, restaurant or theatre is accessible for their own needs.”

Councillor Richard Marbrow, Executive Member – Central Services said: “This is a great new service for Liverpool’s residents. DisabledGo’s detailed information will empower people to check access to all kinds of places, and to more easily participate in everything that our area has to offer. The project will help raise awareness among local businesses that a huge number of people are affected by access issues, and that becoming more accessible is all about providing better service to more customers. The council is delighted to be sponsoring this new web directory in partnership with Marks and Spencer.”

A spokesman for Liverpool Marks and Spencer added: “At Marks & Spencer, we are keen to improve access for all our customers to our products and services. We believe that the DisabledGo website provides comprehensive information, which answers a real need, and will make a genuine difference to disabled people’s daily lives. It’s great that we can support this service here in Liverpool and in other areas across the UK.”

Gregory Burke concluded: “Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business or service provider should take seriously. I’m immensely grateful to Marks & Spencer and Liverpool Culture Company for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Liverpool has to offer to everyone.